Belarus plane diversion: Putin plays down crisis at talks with Lukashenko

Russian President Vladimir Putin has dismissed Western outrage over the diversion of a Ryanair jet to the Belarus capital from where a dissident and his girlfriend were seized.

During talks in the Russian resort city of Sochi, Mr Putin and his Belarusian counterpart Alexander Lukashenko spoke of "an outpouring of emotion".

The EU has since urged Europe-based airlines to avoid Belarusian airspace.

They have demanded the release of Roman Protasevich and Sofia Sapega.

The pair had been flying from Athens to Vilnius, two EU capitals, last Sunday, when a fighter jet was scrambled over Belarus to escort their plane to land at Minsk airport over a bomb threat which turned out to be fake.